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MONTREAL -- Montreal may have lost more than just the opening game of the series. Maglia Giacomo Bonaventura . With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. At 3:15 of the second, winger Chris Kreider blew past defenceman Alexei Emelin in the offensive zone to force a breakaway. Kreider lost his balance as he shot the puck, missed the net, and slid skate-first into the Canadiens netminder. Price spent more than 10 seconds lying on the ice clutching his right leg after the hit, and was visibly shaken when he finally got up. He spoke to a member of Montreals medical staff for several seconds after the play, but remained in the game, giving up two more goals before the second intermission. He watched the third period from the bench. "There was no reason to put Carey back in the third," said Habs coach Michel Therrien. "It was just to protect him. You never want to see your goaltender spread out on the ice. But the fact that he didnt play in the third period is unrelated." Therrien and several Canadiens players were convinced Kreiders hit on Price was accidental. There was no penalty call on the play. "It wasnt really sitting for me, so I had my head down trying to settle the puck," said Kreider, who scored the game-winning goal late in the second period. "I put it wide and somehow lost my footing. I thought maybe someone pressured me from behind. I seem to have an issue staying on my feet on those. "I went in skates-first and I just had too much momentum and couldnt really avoid him. It didnt feel too good for me either." Despite brushing off any injury concerns, Therrien refused to answer whether Price would definitely get the start in Game 2 of the series on Monday. "The fact that he didnt play in the third period was more to protect him than anything," repeated Therrien. "We were not sharp in front of him." "You dont want to see that," added Rene Bourque, who kept the Canadiens in the game with his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs at 12:38 of the second. "Intentional? I dont think so. Hes our best player. It was scary to see. Hopefully hes all right." Price gave up four goals on 20 shots after two periods, including two in less than a minute to end the second period, lowering his post-season save percentage from .926 to .919. The score was 4-1 Rangers at the interval. Montreals frustration showed at the start of the third. The Canadiens took four minor penalties in the first three minutes, and the Rangers welcomed Peter Budaj into the game with three power-play goals on their first four shots. Prior to this one, the Rangers had scored eight goals in their last 10 games at the Bell Centre, dating back to Oct. 2009. And this year, Montreal and New York combined for four goals in three regular-season matchups. But Saturdays game was a real barnburner. The Rangers quieted the sold-out Bell Centre crowd within minutes of the puck drop. Martin St. Louis, after an emotional week during which he lost his mother, opened the score at 4:35 of the first. Mats Zuccarello added another 1:51 later. The Rangers scored twice in 49 seconds to end the second period, and added two more in 25 seconds to open the third. Between the end of the second and start of the final frame, the Rangers scored five times in 5:37, an ignominious post-season record for the five quickest goals allowed by the Canadiens. "Good thing its a seven-game series because we have a chance to get back into it," said Bourque. "We have to be better from the puck drop. We had a little bit of an emotional letdown after the Boston series. We talked about that going into the game. Obviously it didnt click. We have to just forget about this game." This is the 15th playoff meeting between the Canadiens and Rangers. The series is split 7-7. Notes: The Habs have not advanced to the Stanley Cup Final since 1993, when they last hoisted the Cup. a New York coach Alain Vigneault coached Montreal for four seasons between 1997 and 2001. a Henrik Lundqvist has made a team-record 81 consecutive playoff starts for the Rangers. The New York netminder had lost his last four contests at the Bell Centre dating back to March 17, 2009. ... Ryan McDonagh tied a Rangers playoff record with four points in one game by a defenceman. a The Rangers are now 8-2 when scoring first in these playoffs. Maglia Stephan El Shaarawy . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. Maglia Luca Antonelli . a All signs point to the Maple Leafs having their top offseason acquisition in the lineup on opening night.NEW YORK -- Henrik Lundqvist didnt allow a bad ending to the second period wreck an otherwise good day for the New York Rangers. Lundqvist was the beneficiary of a three-goal lead that was trimmed to two when the Philadelphia Flyers got their power play to work in the closing seconds of the middle period. But the Rangers kept it together in the third, withstood a late surge, and pushed the Flyers to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 victory Sunday. "The biggest part to me was to calm down and not be too upset about it," Lundqvist said of Vinny Lecavaliers goal with 32.6 seconds left that made it 3-1. "It is really frustrating to sit here when you give up a goal like that late in the period. "It was just about letting it go and being focused on the right things going into the third." Brad Richards and Dominic Moore scored in the second to make it 3-0. Lundqvist stopped 24 shots and didnt face more than 10 in any period. The only other puck that got past him was Claude Girouxs goal with 1:29 left after the Flyers pulled goalie Steve Mason. Defenceman Marc Staal gave the Rangers the lead in the first, and Brian Boyle ended the drama with an empty-net goal with 15 seconds remaining. Moore helped seal the win when he raced up ice to negate an icing call and fed Boyle. New York leads the series 3-2 and can advance to the second round with a win Tuesday in Philadelphia. If necessary, a deciding seventh game would be back at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. The teams have alternated wins this series. "We took back the advantage, and we have to win one now," Richards said. "We put ourselves in a good position. We were in control for most of the game. They got a little sneaky there at the end." Mason wasnt nearly as sharp in his second straight start following a late-season injury. He stopped 18 shots after his 37-save effort in a 2-1 victory in Game 4 got the Flyers even. "As you go through a series, you have to keep elevating your game because the other side will," Rangers forward Martin St. Louis said. "I thought we did that, and we got rewarded." Giroux made things interesting with his first goal of the series. The Flyers went 0-2 during the season at the Garden and are 1-2 there during this series. "Were playing well," Girouux said. Maglia Antonio Candreva. "Its a tough building to play in. Game 6 is going to be huge. We are not looking at it like its our last game of the season. Weve come back all season long when it matters, and were going to stay confident." New York is 13-2 in series it has led 3-2, but the Rangers have lost 11 straight games in which they had a series lead. Philadelphia is 7-10 in Game 6 when trailing 3-2. The Rangers increased their pressure in tight on Mason, a stated objective, and created multiple scoring chances in the second even though they managed only eight shots. New York thought it grabbed a 2-0 lead 2:14 in when St. Louis poked in a loose puck in the crease, but the play had been blown dead. The Rangers took their two-goal lead on Richards second of the series and 30th career playoff score. With a crowd around Mason, Richards tucked in a backhander at the left post off assists from J.T. Miller and Carl Hagelin. Unlike in previous games in which the Flyers rallied after being down 2-0, New York pushed its edge to 3-0 later in the period with a big assist from Philadelphia defenceman Hal Gill, playing his first game of the series. Gill was unable to handle a rough pass at his blue line from defence partner Braydon Coburn. Moore swooped in to poke the puck behind him and skate in alone. Moore beat Mason for his second of the series and then leapt into the arms of Boyle, sending them both to the ice. "I tried to kick (the puck) up, and I kicked it back," Gill said. "I have to make that play, and I didnt. When youre in the playoffs, you make a little mistake and it costs you." Philadelphia took advantage on its fifth power play when Lecavalier scored his first of the series and 25th in 68 career playoff games. The Rangers had six shots on Mason in the first period, but Staal made it 1-0 with his first goal in 29 games, dating to Jan. 26 against New Jersey outdoors at Yankee Stadium. NOTES: The Rangers put the 21-year-old Miller into the lineup in place of agitator Daniel Carcillo. It was Millers career post-season debut. ... The 39-year-old Gill replaced defenceman Nick Grossmann, who injured his right knee in Game 4. Gill played in only six regular-season games. ... New York was 3 for 12 on the power play in the first two games, but is 0 for 11 since, including 0 for 3 Sunday. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '